


To Care For One Another

by LordKronos87



Category: Tomb Raider (Video Games)
Genre: F/F, Friendship/Love, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, post-Yamatai
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-17
Updated: 2020-11-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:20:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25958926
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LordKronos87/pseuds/LordKronos87
Summary: After the Yamatai incident, Lara Croft and the other survivors are rescued by the ship Margane and it's crew.  Lara worries most about her best friend Sam and how the entire ordeal has effected her.  Lara reaches out to be a comfort to her friend.
Relationships: Lara Croft/Samantha Nishimura
Comments: 8
Kudos: 43





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I just recently finished a replay of Tomb Raider, and this idea came into my head. I'm not sure how far I'll go with this. At this point, it's only going to be this chapter. It might just be a friendship, it might become a love story, or it may stay a one-shot. 
> 
> I've only played the first one (just recently started Rise) so if there are any inconsistencies, they are because I don't know them.

_"Judging from those wounds and the look in your eyes, I'm guessing I don't want to know."_

The words of the Captain of the _Margane_ rang through Lara's head as she looked at herself in the mirror. The shower she had had been wonderful, and she already felt significantly better. She could see the wounds more clearly now that the dirt was washed off. The t-shirt she wore, given to her by the ship's captain, was a little too big for her, but anything was better that the mud-covered, bloodstained, and torn up shirt she had on before. The biggest difference Lara noticed, however, were her eyes. Her brown eyes had changed. They seemed to be more alert and held pain beyond what she should have for a woman her age. Lara closed her eyes and sighed. She still wasn't sure what to make of everything that had happened.

Grim, Roth, and Alex were all gone. All three had sacrificed themselves to save her. Whitman was gone too, but Lara couldn't find it in her heart to feel sorry about that. In the end, he had turned on them. Still Lara felt guilty. The loss of life shouldn't be cause for relief. Lara tried to ignore the stinging tears as she thought of Grim, Roth, and Alex. 

"It's all my fault," Lara whispered into the mirror. "If I hadn't..."

She stopped as she felt the tears stinging her eyes again. Turning on the water in the sink, Lara washed her face. She knew that it wasn't her fault. She even thought she could here Roth's voice chastising her in head for that. A brief smile came upon her lips as she thought of that. Roth would chastise her for that. Lara looked into the mirror again. Her eyes were slightly red from crying. Lara had kept her emotions at bay for awhile, trying to remain strong for the rest of the group. The crying had come out in her shower. Lara sighed. Everyone had lost a friends on this trip. Reyes had even lost a lover. Both Reyes and Jonah seemed to be taking things well, but it was Sam that Lara was really worried about.

Sam had mostly slept since Lara had rescued her from Mathias. As they got on the boat at Yamatai, Lara had stayed by Sam's side. Sam woke briefly when they were found by the _Margane,_ , but she had quickly fallen back asleep when they had found her a room. Sam, always so upbeat and joyous, had been uncharacteristically quiet when she was awake. Lara, to an extent, understood. Sam had not only been exposed to the premature death of friends, but she had been mentally tortured. It seemed like Mathias and his cultists hadn't physically harmed her at least, but that was only because they had seen Sam as a tool to get off of the island.

Lara took another deep breath as she left the bathroom. Lara, Sam, Jonah, and Reyes each had their own room, but Lara didn't head to her own. She headed to Sam's and planned on staying with her. Lara tentatively knocked on the door.

"Sam," she said. Not getting an answer, Lara open the door slightly. "Sam?"

Lara took a look in and sighed in relief as she saw Sam laying down on the bed with her eyes closed. The blanket moved up and down slowly as Sam breathed slowly, showing that she was asleep. Lara entered the room. It was sparsely decorated, containing only a bed, chair and desk. Lara took the chair, set it next to the bed and sat down. Lara brushed a stray hair out of Sam's face, and took her hand. Sam looked peaceful for the first time since they left the island. Lara didn't want to wake her.

Sam's eyelids fluttered open. "Lara?" she asked quietly.

"I'm here Sam," Lara responded, giving her hand a squeeze.

"Please don't leave," Sam said.

"I'm not going anywhere," Lara said, and gave her friend a smile.

Sam smiled back and fell back into sleep and Lara kissed her on her forehead. As she waited, fatigue began to set in for Lara as well. Lara shook her head to remain awake, but the only thing she could think about was how long it had been since she had slept. Slowly, Lara dozed off.

**********

_"Out," the man's gruff voice said before switching to Russian. Lara obeyed, sliding out of the place she had hidden. Her hands were still bound. She had thought the man's name was Nikolai, but she wasn't sure. Truth be told, she didn't really care. The rain was cold on her skin, but it removed some of the muck she had found herself going though since the accident on the _Endurance_. The man's hand wandered down towards her waist and she kneed him, aiming for his groin. With him distracted, Lara tried to escape, but he caught her and threw her back against the barrier. He held Lara more tightly this time. She could smell cigarettes on his hot breath as he moved to talk into her ear. Lara reacted quickly, biting him on the neck. Lara could taste warm blood and she quickly spit it out. The man screamed and back up, Lara used this chance to knock him to the ground. She was able to pull out of the bounds and rushed to get the man's pistol. As he got up she aimed, but he had his hands on hers, trying to force the gun away from her. She fought and forced the gun to point at his face before pulling the trigger. His head exploded and Lara face's was suddenly splashed with gore. Lara kicked the body away and vomited before starting to cry when suddenly she heard a scream..._

Lara sprang awake at the sudden scream. Disoriented, she looked around. Sam was screaming loudly.

"Sam," Lara said, standing out of the chair. "I'm here, Sam. It's okay, you're safe."

As quickly as it had started it had ended. Sam was awake with fear in her eyes. Tears stained her cheeks and she was hyperventilating. Lara grabbed Sam's hand again. "I'm here Sam. Breathe with me."

Sam looked over at Lara, her eyes still frightened, but she listened and took deep breaths with Lara. Sam seemed a little more calm after a couple of moments.

"It was..." Sam began but was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Sam," Jonah's voice came from the other side. "Sam, are you okay?"

Lara looked at Sam. "I'm going to go over and tell him that you had a nightmare, and then I'll be right back okay?" Lara asked.

Sam only nodded. Lara stood and opened the door slightly to see Jonah and Reyes standing outside the door.

"Lara?" Jonah asked. "Where is Sam? Is she okay?"

Lara nodded. "She's here. She...had a nightmare."

Jonah and Reyes both looked sad at that. "She okay?" Reyes asked.

Lara's voice went to a whisper. "I don't know," Lara said truthfully. "I'm going to stay here with her. I'm sure she's...going through a really hard time right now."

"Let her know we're here for her, okay?" Jonah said.

Lara gave him a smile. Jonah was a good person. "I will. If I need anything, I'll let you know."

"Good night, Little Bird," Jonah said and Reyes echoed him with a "Good night, Lara."

"Good night," Lara said and shut the door as they left.

Sam was now sitting up in bed. Tears still stained her cheeks, but she was breathing normally. Lara sat on the bed next to her.

"It was Mathias," Sam said. "I dreamt I was back where we met on the island. When you met him." Lara nodded in understanding. " He took me away again. He did the fire ritual. He brought me to her...Lara...I'm scared."

Lara wrapped her arms around Sam, and Sam held onto her tightly. She started sniffling. "I know, Sam. It's okay to be scared, but I'm here. Jonah and Reyes are here for you too."

Sam continued to cry into Lara's shoulder. "I know this may not help with the nightmares, Sam, but Mathias is dead. He can't hurt you anymore."

Sam pulled away to look into Lara's eyes. Lara put her hands around Sam's face and wiped the tears off her cheeks and offered her an encouraging smile. "I'll protect you, Sam. Always - that's a promise."

Sam smiled back at Lara before wrapping her in a hug again. "Thank you, Lara."

"Do you need anything?" Lara asked after they finished their embrace.

"I think I just need some rest. Will you stay?"

Lara lay down next to Sam and covered them both in blankets. "I'll be right here." Lara gave Sam a kiss on the forehead as Sam whispered her thanks.

Lara wrapped her arms around Sam so that Sam would feel her there. Lara had promised to protect her, and Sam had trusted that. After everything, Sam still trusted Lara. Lara was on her side, and faced Sam. She could see the look of peace on Sam's face. Lara kissed Sam's cheek again. "Good night, Sam,"


	2. Croft Manor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feeling emboldened by the kudos I have received (thank you all for reading and for the feedback!) I have decided to keep going with this a little more. This chapter has a lot more language in in so I upgraded it to a mature rating (it might go up again in the future :-0)
> 
> Hope you enjoy this chapter and hopefully I'll have a third one soonish.

Sam woke up before Lara the next morning. She wasn't surprised because she had slept most of the day before. The two women were a tangle of limbs, and Sam carefully untangled herself as to not wake Lara. Sam rubbed her eyes and stretched. A small window let in a ray of sunshine. For the first time in several days, Sam felt normal. After her nightmare, she had fallen asleep again and her sleep had been dreamless. Sam stood and headed to the bathroom. She washed her face and then headed to the galley to get some coffee. She picked up two cups and headed back to the room. Lara was just waking up as she arrived and Sam handed her a cup.

"Thank you!" Lara said, taking a sip of the hot beverage. "How are you feeling, Sam?"

Sam gave her a small smile. "Better today. Somewhat normal."

Lara returned the smile. "I'm glad to hear that Sam. I'm really glad."

***********

A couple of days later and the pair were in a taxi heading to Croft Manor. A quick call to Winston and the group had enough money for some new clothes and tickets back to London. The driver was going to drop Lara off and then take Sam to her own apartment. Lara was hoping to convince Sam to stay at the Manor. It would be better for both of them to have a friend right now. Even though they politely chatted as the cabbie drove, Lara didn't have the courage to bring it up yet. Asking Sam to stay would be admitting that they both needed help.

The cabbie finally pulled up at the Manor, and the ladies exited the vehicle and headed towards the trunk. Lara pulled out her bag. "Hey, Sam?" Lara finally asked, her face serious.

"What is it?" Sam asked, her voice laced with concern.

"I think you should stay here," Lara forced the words out quickly, not wanting to lose the moment of courage she had.

Sam shook her head with a disarming smile. "No. I don't want to be a bother Lara."

Lara gestured towards the house. "You won't be a bother, Sam. I have more than enough space. And..." Lara sighed and pulled at her ponytail absentmindedly. "I think we could both use a friend close by now."

Sam sighed and rubbed the back of her neck. "Maybe," Sam admitted after a moment. "Okay."

Lara smiled and gave Sam a hug. "Thank you, Sam." Lara said.

Lara let the cabbie know of the change in plans and paid him. She picked up her own bag and they headed into the home. They were greeted by Winston and after some directions from both women, a room was being prepared for Sam and plans were made to have her possessions brought to the mansion. Sam followed Winston to her room and Lara took an opportunity to head to the master bedroom. She had a bathroom connected to the room so she headed in to clean up. A look in the mirror and as she saw her eyes, she felt the emotions welling up. 

"Oh shit," she said as the tears began to drop. "Shit!"

She couldn't help it. The look in her eyes, ignoring her own pain, and trying to keep strong for Sam had broken the floodgates as she began to sob.

"Fuck!" Lara screamed. "What the fuck is happening to me!"

Lara sat on the edge of the bath tub. The intensity of her sobbing increased and her breathing became ragged. A knock came to the door, but Lara was unable to answer verbally and she couldn't bring herself to stand.

"Lara," Sam's voice came from the other side of the door. "Are youokay?" Lara was unable to answer through her crying. "Lara I'm coming in."

Lara couldn't stop her. The door open and Sam hurried to Lara's side and wrapped her friend in a hug. Lara buried her face in Sam's shoulder. "It's okay Lara." Sam said rubbing her back. 

Sam remained silent as Lara cried. As Lara got under control, she looked up and Sam wiped her tears away. "What the fuck is happening to me, Sam. I just started crying like this."

"You've been through a lot too, Lara," Sam said, pulling her into a tighter hug. She released the hug and continued. "You fought for your friends and killed to save them. That's not easy to deal with. You've been keeping strong for me and I love you for that, but it's okay to admit that you're struggling too."

Lara withheld a gasp at Sam saying "I love you" even though she knew it had not meant more than their friendship. Lara briefly wondered if they whole experience had changed her view of Sam. Lara chuckled a bit. "I guess we're both a little fucked up right now aren't we." Lara said and Sam gave a slight smile and nod. Lara sighed. "Maybe we should call a counselor."

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed!!!!


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